1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a bicycle or cycle-type machine, specifically to an apparatus enabling positioning change capabilities of the bicycle's or cycle-type machine's seat, controllable by a bicycle rider while riding the bicycle or an operator while operating the cycle-type machine.
2. Background Discussion of Prior Art
The conventional static adjustment capabilities of bicycle seats in the horizontal, vertical, and angular directions is well known and old in the prior art. A modification which is now well known incorporates a coil sprung seat post with a quick release clamp, used primarily in mountain bike racing, enabling adjusting of the seat up or down, while riding, in order to provide for lower center of gravity and more stable bike handling on fast descents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,069 to Szymski, 9-20-88, shows a multiposition horizontal, vertical, and angular seat adjustment capability. U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,970 to Rizzato, 2-7-67, shows a releasably lockable hinged seat post and separate arcuate rack device for the purpose of, as stated, to maintain horizontal orientation of the seat whatever the saddle holder position may be. U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,740 to Tajima, Yasuda, and Seki, 1-21-75, shows a telescoping hydraulic oil cylinder apparatus for vertical seat adjustment capabilities.
These references require separate and different uni-directional seat movement effectuating steps in order to realize a multi-directional seat position change end result. Taken either singly, or in combination, these references do not appear to suggest, anticipate, or teach towards what this invention can embody, namely, an apparatus enabling a combined multi-directional seat position changing capability, within a plurality of releasably locked positions, particularly with regards to its comprising an exclusively single common releasable locking mechanism, connected by cable to a handlebar mounted exclusively single common actuating control, controllable by the rider while riding or the operator while operating. This way the rider,.or operator, has but one, identically repeatable, controlling actuation to contend with which enables desirable multi-directional seat position changes to be effected, the need for, and utility of which, follow.
In recent years, intense focus has been placed on aerodynamic efficiency in cycling, particularly as regards rider positioning on the bicycle, which has been proven to be the most significant wind resistance factor. The invention of the aero-type handlebars by Lennon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,754, 6-14-88, have been impactful in promoting rider aerodynamic efficiency. Their implementation has brought into sharp focus what the applicant believes has always been, albeit in the past not clearly understood, a long felt but unsolved need in cycling. That unsolved need is how to better reconcile aerodynamic efficiency with biomechanical efficiency. Biomechanical efficiency will be defined as whatever would tend to promote, irrespective of wind resistance, going faster and further, per calorie of energy expended, with the most comfort possible. In general, concerning body positioning on traditionally designed bicycles, it has always been that to get better aerodynamic efficiency some biomechanical efficiency would have to be sacrificed, and vice-versa. Conventional and traditional bike design provides for the most optimal biomechanically efficient position to be where the rider is seated relatively upright, arms only slightly bent, with the hands on the handlebar tops or hoods, upper-body-to-legs angle being relatively open, permitting full breathing and blood flow, the greater percentage of body weight on the seat, and muscles working around a midrange between full extension and full contraction. This is fine while riding in a pack where wind resistance is minimized, and is the position most seen being used by riders in a pack. However, in solo or small group breakaways, or even in large group speed increases, where wind resistance becomes the dominant speed limiting factor, the riders will move their hands onto the handlebar drops and assume as low and horizontal a back position as is possible. This position throws more upper body weight onto now tensed supporting tricep muscles, compresses the upper-body-to-legs angle, which constricts breathing and blood flow, and forces muscles, particularly the gluteous maximus, to work in a less efficient over-stretched position. It is common in cycling to see riders move forward on their seats in this position which expands the upper-body-to-legs angle somewhat, offering some relief from the above mentioned constrictions and overstretching, but at the same time shortening, rider sensibly, the pedal-to-rider's-rump distance. These are the prices that have always had to be paid for minimizing the even greater performance limiting factor of wind resistance.
These problems are now beginning to be recognized and dealt with, particularly in the realm of triathlon racing where aerodynamics are so important that aerobars have come into universal use, but yet where biomechanical drawbacks in assuming this low horizontal back position still present an unsolved problem. While statically relocating a bicycle seat even further forward than conventional adjustment would allow, in order to provide that better biomechanically efficient position of expanding the upper-body-to-legs angle, there are times in a race, specifically when climbing hills, where aerodynamic concerns are minimized and where the conventional, body more upright, seat-back position is desirable. So, while working towards solving one problem, a new one is concurrently created.
Some leading athletes and bicycle designers are speaking about these issues. In the August, 1989 issue of "Bicycle Guide" magazine, in an article entitled, "Power Without Pretense", page 43, center column, author Christopher Koch, in a discussion concerning the use of aerobars, including observations from Mike Pigg and Mark Allen, two of the world's top triathletes, says, "The strange ski tuck is de rigueur. Indeed, both Pigg and Allen now train and race full time on Profile aerobars. But, when they first tried the new position, they were as uncomfortable as they looked." "The new position was really hard on my back ", says Pigg, "because you're working in a really laid-out position, and the back is just not used to it. It puts more weight on your shoulders because you're laying out there, whereas with a normal position you're sitting more on your butt. The hamstrings and butt muscles are also stretched to the limit," adds Pigg. "The butt and hamstrings all had to adapt because they're all connected to the back," he says. "You're in a little more pain than normal. I could do 25 miles ( in the new position ) pretty easily at first, but when you get to the 50 to 100 mile races ( the pain ) starts to add up. So it took me about six months to get used to it." "According to Allen, those not blessed with adequate flexibility may never get used to the bars." "A lot of riders don't loosen up enough to stay way down," he says. "That's why you'll see their stems way up high and the bars tilted up so essentially they're sitting up higher than they would have been on regular bars." "Perhaps the biggest change resulting from the new bars has been the change in the rider's orientation to the pedals and the front end of the bike." "Last year I rode with my seat in the old ( pre-profile bars ) position and was really uncomfortable," Allen says. "And it finally dawned on me near the end of the season that I needed to start moving things forward." ( End quote )
The applicant, having competed in triathlons, encountered the same problem and had the seatpost, itself, bent forward at a local muffler shop to obtain that further forward seat positioning which the limits of the conventional horizontal seat adjustment capability did not allow.
This issue has prompted bicycle frame designers to put their skill and expertise to use. In the same above mentioned magazine, in an article entitled, "Road Test; Desert Princess & Quintana Roo Superform ", in discussing a new radical bicycle frame design, author Doug Roosa, page 48, 3rd column, says, "Ralph Ray, Marti's husband, reveals the idea behind the Desert Princess:" "We said to heck with biomechanics and let's optimize aerodynamics." "Like most triathletes, Marti is a dedicated aerobar user, and Ralph felt her regular racing bike did not complement the bars. Marti was having trouble holding a full aero tuck, and the heavy weight bias that the aero riding position puts on the front wheel was compromising handling. So Ralph played "what if ". What if I position Marti so she can ride with her torso truly flat and do so comfortably? What if I rejigger the wheelbase of the bike so that I recapture the balanced weight distribution that makes regular bikes so easy to handle? He sketched out an ideal aerodynamic position for Marti and then pencilled in a bike beneath her that included all the tricks that help any rider go fast, including a 24" front wheel with 24 bladed spokes, a 26" rear disk, and Scott 100 K handlebars." ( End quote )
Moving forward in the same article to page 49, 3rd column, an enlightening discussion of another bicycle design addressing the same issue, says, "The Superform, like the Desert Princess, is a bike conceived by and built for the triathlete. As such, it is meant to be ridden with Scott handlebars or one of their derivatives. The Superform follows the same format as the Desert Princess with a steepened seat angle, a stretched front and a compressed rear, but its radical presentation is more subtly cast in conventional frame construction. Next to the Desert Princess, the Superform looks positively pedestrian. Dan Empfield, president of Quintana Roo, a company that specializes in products for the triathlete, is not shy about how he got the idea for his bike." "We observed how people rode ( with Scott bars ) and saw that everyone was riding way forward on their saddle, " he says. "We decided there must be some aerodynamic or biomechanical advantage to do so, or why else would guys like Mike Pigg want to put up with the nose of the saddle jamming into their rear end? " "It's actually not uncommon for a racing cyclist to spend time on the tip of the saddle, as anyone who has watched track pursuiters and sprinters can attest. But the problem seemed to be particularly pervasive in triathlons, where competitors are always going full out. Several inventors had begun to address the problem with ideas like add-on saddle extensions, while some athletes took the matter in their own hands and turned their seat posts around to gain forward extension." ( End quote )
However, while these changes get the seat forward and allow for improved biomechanical efficiency in conjunction with the use of the aerobar position, they are very specificfunction oriented and present some downsides, as alluded to by Mark Allen in the same magazine, page 43, 3rd column, "Yet there is a downside to triathlon's increasingly radical seat positions" says Allen. "Most of the events we ride have hills, so I found that when I moved too far forward, I lost power in the climbs. I also found that I was putting too much of my weight over the front end, and in terms of handling, it's not an advantage at all." "Allen says that he hopes to experiment with the steeper seat angles that are now in vogue, in order to minimize the handling problem. By steepening seat angles and lengthening top tubes and front centers, triathletes can move forward without sacrificing handling." ( End quote )
Ray Browning, another distinguished triathlete, comments on the same issue in the same magazine, page 50, 3rd column, saying, "The Superform suits all my needs now, but it may compromise how well you climb. You do sit a lot further forward, which takes some getting used to, because you feel like you're going to fall off the front. Long descents are a little hairy and uncomfortable." "Browning adds that he'd have no qualms about riding the bike in a criterium, but doesen't think that the bike is going to gather much interest in road racing circles." "It's the road-racing mindset mostly," he explains. "It's against a change as radical as this. " "But aerodynamics are less important in pack racing,he concludes, so any trade-off in handling or comfort for aerodynamics may not be appropriate. " ( End quote )
Bill Holland, the Desert Princess frame builder, says in the same magazine, page 49, 3rd column, "But I can't help but wonder if there isn't some way to meld the Desert Princess design to the traditional bike for a more useful all-purpose bike. " ( End quote )
In the same magazine, in the article entitled, "Road test; Trimble Monocoque, " James Trimble, the bicycle's builder, in discussing the relative tameness of his bike's 72 degree seat angle compared to the much steeper seat angles now in vogue within triathloning circles, on page 61, 1st column, says, "The Monocoque geometry makes sense biomechanically, and I haven't seen any evidence that the other way is an improvement, " he says. "With the other way, you're not as efficient at turning the pedals all around in a circle. The DH bar position is definitely an advantage, but you shouldn't have to sacrifice good position-not when you can adjust the bars and stem on the bike. " ( End quote )
So, in summary for this prior art/background section, it is apparent that those athletes and bicycle designers, extraordinarily skilled in their respective arts, have been feverishly working towards solving the aerodynamic/biomechanical efficiency reconciliation problem, and have approached the issue by attempting to provide the ideal "static " body positioning on the bicycle, which, in terms of specific-function cycling requirements, has met with measures of success. However, as regards meeting multi-specificfunction cycling requirements concerning body positioning, these attempts have fallen short and the solution to the problem unattained.